Review: Microfluidic applications in metabolomics and metabolic profiling

Area of Science:

• Biochemistry and Analytical Chemistry
• Biotechnology and Bioengineering

Background:

• Metabolomics involves the comprehensive study of small molecules (metabolites) in biological systems.
• Microfluidics and related technologies have shown significant promise in advancing metabolomic research.
• Existing metabolomic approaches vary from global profiling to targeted analysis of specific analytes.

Purpose of the Study:

• To provide a comprehensive review of microfluidic applications in the field of metabolomics.
• To summarize the direct use of microfluidic devices for small molecule determination.
• To cover microfluidic-based sample preparation techniques relevant to metabolomics.

Main Methods:

• Review of scientific literature on microfluidics and metabolomics.
• Categorization of microfluidic applications into direct analysis, sample preparation, and cellular event analysis.
• Synthesis of findings on the integration of microfluidics with metabolomic workflows.

Main Results:

• Microfluidics enables direct determination of small molecules with high sensitivity and specificity.
• Novel microfluidic sample preparation methods enhance efficiency and reduce sample volume requirements.
• Microfluidic platforms facilitate the analysis of cellular events through metabolomic profiling.

Conclusions:

• Microfluidics is a key enabling technology for advancing metabolomics research.
• The integration of microfluidics streamlines metabolomic workflows, from sample preparation to analysis.
• Future directions include further development of microfluidic devices for complex biological systems analysis.